Airplane with auxiliary lifting rotor



July 7,1953 H. B. cowGlLL, JR 2,644,653 Y AIRPLAN WITH AUXILIRY LIFTING Ro'ToR Filed July i6, 1949 s sheets-sheet 1 FG'l 1 B? @www 117 ATTORNEYS.

July 7, 1953 l H. B. cowG|L1.,JR 2,644,653

AIRPLANE WITH AUXILIARY LIFTING ROTOR Filed July 16, 1949 3 sheets-sheet s FIG: ZZ.

WITNESSES H J1.k1 Q3-@M ff' HLM BY ATTORNEYS.

Patented July 7, 1953 annum-martinm@- -noron .gmx-B, oowgiu, Jr., naeftrafnrc.. .apprise-non .mlyfra 1949, serial ivm-105,143?? This invent-ion relates-*to;-aircraft:. 4'liderapan ticularly, it is concerned with aircraft; ofith'e. heavier than air type, i. e, poweredplanes, and tow,v planesV or gliders.lr yAircrial,:t .ofl the :kind eS.-

vpecially referred to, .asf ordinarily constructed,

require the use of special :Fields '0r-'ports' 'ofA .large area for safe landing.-` Accordingly, forced .land',.

ings, ofsuch c raft in fields orfplaces ofi restricted l area jmade necessary inemergencieswby reason of fog, lpoor visibility-brother causes; are invariably attended by loss of .life cir-destruction 'of cargo, aswell as byserious; damage to. or complete wreckage'` of the craft; While 4a'utogyros,,- and helicopters are 'designed witha yieW..l toward overcoming landing diillculties;in-1;estrictedf areas,y they lack the ying lspeedof the'frstmentioned types of aircraft.l

The chief aimof'my invention isto provide fan.

aircraft in which the-fadvantageousi.featuresf'ofn the two general types-:above discussed. are combned, that is. tofsay, onewhich .has the: speed ofA the common typeofxedwing planes and which, notwithstanding,- 'c-anbe .landedzlike autb.- gyro's or helicopters within-.relativelysmall spacesy if desired, or as may be.necessaryfinfemergencies.

This objective is attainedainzpractice;'as herein.-

after more fully; disclosed'. through A,provision o f-v 'a Claims. 01.v 244,448.)

a bi-vaned `rotor whichiis-mounted*.forwcapacity to revolve about =a vertical iaxisfsubstantiallyfat the .central pointfofthermainwingaofjthe; plane,V

said rotor, with alLits partsgbeinginormallynest ed Within the confines/riffftlremainl wingduring. the4 fight lof; 4the craft'. Through further `provisionY of. Securing means. arranged. -ioractuation atwih, the 4rotor can be released-for-operation at.; any time dur-ing Enight -ofl thecraft; The-.speed of; the :rotor will accelerata-ias. .the craft.. Ybegins to., drop vertically and-\.'so,f.retard the descent to; I

make fsafe andgsmooth landngrpossible Within a relatively-:small -rspa'ce; Int the-icaseof powered'. planes,- the rotorimayfxbefpcoupled to.the,.engine4 and: Ypositively driven fin. :theproperdirection to structure, taken as; indicated 'by the; angled er? rows II-II .in Eig. 1', and: drawn 1to1 azlargerzzscale; y

Fig. 3 Sis-a broken vloutv.'perspec'tiVe;l view-ofthe rotor ofmy improvedaircraft;

Figs. 4r and5 Iarefragmentarysectional;yiews Fig. 6 is ai detail.. section. taken asninleatedbyf thelangledarrows VIVILin Eig. l A

Figs. '7, I8, 9 and ..10 vare fdiagirammaticrviews in transverse:'sections4 off-ther main wing.; of'fthe;

craft, 'taken a's;..respectiyely"indicated..;byf'the.

edge .a ofa stabilizer: I.9.1'at;the-tail. :andi-'of --theafuselage l5. Y

.In laccordance with "mywinyention:theicrat `is". provided with'- a .rotcrillg.having- .suitably.:Icann` beredvanes l2|, 22.`atgltheyfouteniends-of apair;

of radially iarrangedzgarmsf 23,` .24. which .fare'aiflike-Y wise suitably 4cambered; ami.` whereof :the inner: ends are hinged .to angleaboutl aA transverse bolt.l

slightlyV forwardv oftthe. center-riofilift; .As-shown; in Figs,l 12. and. 4; :thefl shaft;.26., extendsdown` through a clearance?. opening 2l'iin;'thegmvinggl.6`

increase. .the-.irate-.fof' retardaton while, in the.; v

case.` of gliders, .thegrotorfwill be. rotated solely by:-.aerodynamicgaction iafterathe: 'mannerffofftheg revolving wingfofanfautogyro.

Other objects and attendant advantageswill appearffromfthe.following;detailedrdescription f: the attached drawings? vfzherein:fl5?ig'.-;;1g,fshowsl in top plan, 1a ,nonepowered z-monoplanelgor `Aglider conveniently-lembo'dyingimyiinvention; `with-xpor- Y tions of.itslmainwingfbmkenfeuttofexpnse Scer-A y tain 'importantifeatures which fotherwise wouldand into the'fuselage l 5S, it fbeingmupported with capacity for-:rotationw andiendwisej;shifting, vin ai' sleeve bearing-28 hayingfa head329..atzlthefbotetom :end thereof; .'Lrunnionsf3.0.lextend1'ig;.racier ally from thesheadx.; of. the ;sleeye;z;2r8.and ne gaged 1in bearings .'l/famxedzto ithe: mainfwingfr.

centrally of its Lbottom;` .permit:aecertalnaiamountr' of rocking of the `rrotor faxisfin Aforel-'and fatt.- di'.A rection. Upon release offthe rotorfh -asirllaten" on explained, theshaft' A'.264 is :thrust upwardI sbyr'V a helical compression springi; thelimit'ioffthe. axialvv shift being-#determined i by engagementiof; a fcircumferentialrelargement.'Ifathelowem 3 end of said shaft within the hollow 34 of the head 29 at the bottom of the bearing sleeve 28.

The vanes 2l and 22 of the rotor 20 are normally nested in conformative recesses 35, 3S in the wing l5 at the outer ends of the latter, fitting snugly into said recesses as shown in Figs. 1, 7 and A10 with their top surfaces flush with the top surface of said wing. The vane arms 23 and 24 likewise t snug withinconformative longitudinal grooves31, 38 which respectively extend between the recesses 35, 36 and the central clearance opening 21 in the wing as shown in Figs. 1, 9- 4 and 8. All the parts of the rotprjzmarethps Operation Under normal conditions,I the craft lis flown as ordinarily and-landed? in Ythe4 usual way with- -out the use ofthe rotor '25;' in the case of emergencies or' when it is desired to land in small areas other than regular airports, the craft is first brought.` Ito' near a stall to reduce its fornormally located within the confines of the wing ,l

IS where they cannot interfere in any way with the normal flight of the crafty'being-'locked *f by securing devices indicated'at d and 4l in Figs. l and 5. These securing devices ilandlll are identical in construction, and respectively comprise hasps 42 which engage crosswise over the rotor. farms 23,. 24;,immediately .adjacent the inner endsv of. .the1 vanes. 21,. 22. The` hasps ,ft2 of the respective securing devices vare pivoted, `as instanced ineFig; 5,v on pins` d3 engaged crcsswise in spaced lugs iid within the. hollow of the main wing i6, and which, ymidway of their lengths,

, are formed with downward-.projections t5 to bear upon the rotor arms 223 Aand 2d. rlhe swinging ends of thehasps. 2 .are'norrnally engaged'beneath latch boltsf'which areconstrained to axial'shiftingin guide lugs t? '.withinthe'hollow of thelmai'n .wing atopposite edges of. entrant slots l 158.5 in' .thegztopj surface of said wing asV instancedlinz-Eigf. 6.31The boltse are normally maintained in projected latchingposition by springssgiand to'them areconnectedpull cords orca'blestwhich may extend to a point conl venientfor operation within .the fuselage i5 of the craft or to the fuselageof the towing plane ifthe craftz be a glider. f

It willbenoted, from Fig. 3, that the vanes2l and 22 aresoarranged as to predeterminev coun-- terclockwise autogyration. upon .release of the rotor k2U as laterl on explained, and, from Fig', that the." cross sectional configuration of the main wing l'allows vnesting of therighthand vane 22 ofthe 'rotor at'the desired or required angle ofV V'Ihe'latter ishowever notv it outward'of thearm 23; when, through'incidental camming'iaction between the slot iiwithathe stud 53, saidvane'isturned to a pitch angle'correspondingtothat ofv thevane 22; 1 In order to prevent unbalancing Yof'the rotor when the vane 2l is .outwardly shifted in the manner just desciibed,fthe outer end of arm 213 is similarly made cylindric 'asiat and the vane 22 provided with an inset bushingv 5'! to nt thereover. I-iere, likewise',fa spring*L 5811s relied upon to urge .the Vane 22.outwardeand'a-radialstud 59 provided onV the arm to cooperate with a slot 63 in the sleeve 5l the latter:y siot being lsubstantially straight Y however-,so thatrno turning movement or only slightmovement iseinduced in said vane. normally nested in the main Vwing i5 of the craft as iri:Fig.1, :the vanes 1 and. 22. .areheldaeainst Accordingly, the outer end ofthe arm f When y against the possibility of accidental displacementj.

Ward speed, whereupon the cords or cables 5D are,pulledrtowithdraw the latch boltst for Vreleaseof'theh'asps l2 of the securing devices du andjli. Theshaft 2G of vtherotor 223 is thereupon instantly thrust upward by the spring 32.`

and the vanes 2i, 22 are at the same time freed to rst assume the angular positions in which they are shown inbroken lines in Fig. -2 by sweep ofthe rairbeneath?them,=.1and to be shifted outward ofthe.arinslif 21% bythe springs 1.55,'v 58. As the craftbeginsto drop,.the rotor 2G will be rotated by Aaerodynamicaction and the'yan'es Y gradually assume afmorenearly horizontal position as `the rotation accelerates. VIn lthis way, the dropof thercraft .iseifecti'vely retarded Vso that thelanding ismadevgently and safely inY the way characteristiceofan.autogyra My invention' is thusparticularly advantageous in connection with'npilotless.gliders which, for

exampler could "eef-feconornically.y employed in transporting freight,.since;. upon .being detached from the towing-planeslwith .the rotorslreleased,

they caribe landed withfarly reliable accuracy in predesignated small fields. Moreover, gliders constructed in l accordancek I withl my invention,

can be advantageouslyvusedin conjunction withA a .pick up apparatus suchfas'disclosed in my'Pattents Nos.. 2,433,893 and :2,467,112 for entrainmentwith a powered .towingiplane from a small quent ,discharge 'at' anyv desired destination.

It isto be understood that many'of'the parts' have been purposelyv exaggerated and disproportioned in the drawings. for clarification of their ing a rigidfmain'iwing:extending transversely of y its fuselage; abi-'vanedrotor with. its shaft ver-- ticallyarrangedsubstantially at the mid point of the 'main .wing;fflreleasable securing `means' mounted' on said wingfand-engageable with said 'rctorfor normallyholding therotorfxed with its vanesin parallel=..relation.;.to .the main .wing

whereby the securing .mean'scan be actuated dur.-

ing i-igh-t .cf theA craft Kto "releasetherotor for-` operation; and a bearing for.the rotor shaft pivotally supported so as to. be capable of limited movement fore and aft of-.;the. craft upon release:

ofthe rotor. Y. Y

2. An aircraftof thecharacterdescribed having a rigid main wing extending transverselyV of itsv fuselage; .a .bi-vaned rotor having. its,` shaft.

vertically arranged substantially atthe mid point ofthe inainwing,- ,said rotor` being normally contained within-,the lngiairi wing-with capacity for being shifted beyond the plane of the,latter;re

and engageable with said rotor whereby the rotor is normally held stationary within the connes of the main wing, said means being operable at will during flight of the craft to release the rotor for operation beyond the plane of the main wing; and a bearing for the rotor shaft pivotally supported so as to be capable of limited movement fore and aft of the craft upon release of the rotor.

3. An aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the top surface of the main wing is depressed for flush nesting of the rotor; and wherein the rotor is upwardly displaceable for operation beyond the plane of the main wing upon being released; and wherein the securing means comprises hasps which are pivoted on the main wing to overlie the rotor vanes, and retractable latches normally engaged over the swinging ends of the hasps.

4. An aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the vanes of the rotor are mounted on arms extending diametrically from a central axis hub; and wherein the main wing is provided in one of its surfaces adjacent its opposite ends with conformative depressions for iiush nesting of the rotor vanes, and with a longitudinally-extending groove for flush nesting of the rotor wing arms.

5. An aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the vanes of the rotor are mounted on arms extending diametrically from a central axis hub; and further including means for automatically shifting the vanes of the rotor outward of their supporting arms to equal extents upon release of the rotor.

6. An aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the vanes of the rotor are mounted on arms extending diametrically from a central axis hub, wherein one rotor Vane is iixed at the proper angle of incidence, against rotation upon its supporting arm; and wherein means are provided for automatically shifting the other rotor Vane rotatively about the axis of its supporting arm arm at a fixed angular pitch upon release of the rotor; and spring means concurrently operative.

automatically to shift the other Vane longitudinally of itssupporting arm to a like extent and at the same time shifting it rotatively for correspondence to the angular pitch of the first mentioned Vane.

8. An aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the vanes of the rotor are mounted on arms extending diametrically from a central axis hub; and further including spring means for automatically shifting one of the rotor vanes to a deiinite extent longitudinally of its supporting arm at a xed angular pitch upon release of the rotor; and means for holding the rotor vanes retracted against the force of said spring means while normally nested within the main Wing of the craft.

HARRY B. COWGI'LL, Jn.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED sTATEs PATENTS 

